Learning your wings

by Skyeheart

1st period: You're never too old to learn new tricks...

Carrot Top shook her head at Applejack as she paused from her harvesting. "Rainbow Dash? No. I'm afraid I haven't seen her around today."

"Thanks anyway CT, see ya later."

---

"You looking for that slacker too? She never clocked in for duty today. Not that she ever comes in on time anyways, but seriously, sometimes she just me want to...agh!"

Fluttershy nervously backed away from the frazzled Raindrops.

"If you find her before me, let her know she's got one vacation day less. Got it?"

"Um...okay."

---

"Rainbow Dash is missing?"

"Oh my! You don't suppose this has anything to do with the missing mare reports from Neigh Orleans?"

"You mean the one the wife of my cousin's second best friend's tax accountant said is linked to the serial foalnapper?"

"That same pony that escaped the fabled Canterlot crystal dungeons my penpal wrote to me about?"

"I heard from a friend of a friend of a friend of my caterer that's it's not actually a pony at all. It's some alien creature wearing some other pony's skin! That's why the rumored abductions have been all the way from Appaloosa to Baltimare. It has a mothership in outer space that take it anywhere in the blink of an eye!"

"And now it must have come to Ponyville!"

"You don't suppose it gets its skin by taking it from the abductees do you?"

"I bet it does! That way it can bring more of it's kind and assimilate into our society! And then it'll be a full on invasion!"

"Oh no! What if we're next?! Worse! What if I'm already an alien?!"

"The horror! The horror!"

"Okaaay. I think I'll just leave you three to your usual spiraling out of control gossip and ask somepony else a little less paranoid."

Rarity backed away from the flower stand slowly, and once she was out of sight from the trio, galloped away at full speed.

---

"Have you seen Dashie?"

"No."

"Have you seen Dashie?"

"Nnnnnope."

"Have you seen Dashie?"

"Not since yesterday."

"Have you seen Dashie?"

"Pinkie, why are you asking me? I'm looking for her too!"

Twilight gently pushed the pink party pony out of her personal space. "And I think we need a more systematic approach to this than just asking every pony that passes us by. Perhaps if we had a clue to her whereabouts we might be able to narrow our search down."

"Okay then. Look Twilight! A cookie crumb trail! Is that a clue?"

"One, that's not a clue. Two, that's your cookie crumb trail."

"Oh, right." Pinkie wiped the chocolate chips from her cheeks. "Is this crumpled piece of paper a clue?"

"No, that's trash. Now quit picking up random stuff and throw that...wait a minute."

Twilight smoothed the paper out to find that it was a letter. "To Rainbow Dash. We are pleased and grateful for your participation in last week's tryouts, unfortunately..."

As Twilight read on, Pinkie continued her 'investigation' on a little berry pink unicorn filly by the name of Ruby Pinch.

"Have you seen Dashie?"

"Uh huh, I think she was heading to mommy's place when she passed by."

Twilight's head perked up and joined Pinkie's. "The winery? Why would she go there?"

---

"Hey Berry, another glass. And this time leave the bottle."

Berry Punch skeptically looked at the slightly sauced rainbow-maned pegasus, her head flat against the counter with four empty glasses beside her.

"You sure about that? Even I don't dip in that heavily this early."

"It's three o' clock somewhere."

"The phrase is five o' clock. Didn't you learn your time tables in school?"

"Do not, talk to me, about school!" Rainbow's angry voice had a slight slur to it, and Berry Punch decided not to press the issue. She did however, have the pragmatism to water down the next mix when her only customer at this hour wasn't looking.

Her ears perked up at the sound of her door creaking open as she slid the glass over. More patrons before noon? What was this, national drink your flank off day? The only days her place had this much business in the morning was during the clover derby week, when all the Connemara relatives came to visit.

Her concerns were alleviated when she saw it was just the rainbow pegasus' friends here to fetch their companion. The cyan mare at the bar didn't even hear or notice their approach until Applejack poked her square in the side of her ribs.

"So this is where y'all been."

Rainbow Dash's head swerved as she blinked bleary for moment to focus, then returned a dull frown and rested her head against the counter once more.

"Unless you're joining me or buying for me, I'd like to be alone if you don't mind."

"Rainbow Dash. We don't drink," Twilight brusquely voiced her concern. "You don't drink! Why in Equestria are you inebriating yourself like a...like a..."

"Like a week old pickle in mah granpappy's famous seasalt brine?" Applejack finished Twilight's alliteration for her.

"Take a wild guess," Rainbow harrumphed back as she finished her fifth glass.

"Okay then, does it happen to have anything to do with...this?"

Twilight slapped her hoof on the counter with Rainbow's rejection letter in it for everypony to see.

I knew I should have burned it instead.

"Fine, then you already know and there's nothing we need to talk about. Hey Berry, where's that bottle?"

Rainbow's attempt to reach another glass was thwarted by a slap on the foreleg from her farmer friend.

"You ain't touchin' another drop o' that stuff, and yer certainly not brushin' us off til we've had our own piece a mind in this!"

"Oh come on! Just what is there to say, huh?!" Rainbow leapt onto counter, looking down angrily into everypony's eyes as she over-dramatically gestured. "Rainbow Dash, the most coolest and awesomest pony around has just been permanently denied access to her lifelong dream because in the eyes of everypony around her, she's as dumb as mud!"

"Oh, come now darling. I think you're exaggerating just a tad there. I mean, we don't think any less of you just because you've had a formal lack of schooling," Rarity reassured her.

"Yeah, your sympathy means so much to me right now," Rainbow grumbled as she slid back into her seat, her cheek rested squarely on her hoof.

"Glad we could help Dashie!"

Her lips curled into a sour disposition at the oblivious, bubbly mare. "Sarcasm is still a foreign language to you, isn't it Pinks?"

"Maybe I'd know more about it if I could just find Sarcas in the Equestrian Atlas!"

Groaning, Rainbow turned her head away and dejectedly fished her hoof around in the bowl of mixed nuts next to her. "If we're done with the whole 'cheer up Rainbow Dash because she's going to be pushing clouds til the day she dies' rally, can you leave me alone now?"

Twilight propped herself up in the seat next to her with a worried look. After a moment of silence, she sighed and turned her head to the bartender.

"Berry, a Virgin Maregaretta please."

Berry Punch obliged as she shook her mixer and passed the unicorn the non-alcoholic drink. Twilight sipped her glass as she faced Rainbow, a sad smile on her face. The others soon caught on to what Twilight was doing and took a seat as well.

"Hey, Berry? You still got some of that aged cider I sold you a couple months back?"

"I'll take a light strawberry daiquiri, please."

"One ginger ale!"

"Um...uh...the limeade looks good, if that's okay."

Berry smiled as she procured some fresh ice from the box under her counter, fondly reminded of her own bar-hopping days in college with Cheerilee, Cloudkicker, Bon Bon, and Lyra. Ah, those were the times. Whether it was one of CK's stallion hunts, Cheerilee's one bad grade depression blasting parties, or even Bon Bon's stress managements, a drink of any kind always tasted better with somepony else.

She then ended her nostalgia with a strict glance into Rainbow's eyes as she set the last drink down. "Either take one, or hooves out of the bowl. Other ponies prefer the nuts as germ-free as possible, thank you."

Rainbow obeyed, and proceeded to occupy her hooves by spinning them around the rim of the glasses. Minutes passed as the others sipped their beverages in silence. After getting her glance caught by them for a third time, Rainbow sighed with a calm dejection that was lined with a ring of thankfulness as the smallest of smiles cracked the very edge of her lips.

"All right, you guys win. Sorry I went all jerky on you for a while."

"It's fine, Rainbow dear. We all have moments like these," Rarity sagely nodded.

"I just can't believe being a Wonderbolt meant you had to be an egghead as well as an athlete."

"It's not as uncommon as you think Rainbow," Twilight said before finishing off her glass. "A good education is essential for everypony's career and knowledge is the keystone of Equestria's infrastructure, physical, social, economical, and hierarchical. A degree is perhaps the most valuable and self-fulfilling trophy you can earn."

"Coming from the eggiest of eggheads with five masters from Celestia's gifted unicorn school," Rainbow jokingly remarked.

"Three masters, a doctorate, and a PhD actually," Twilight corrected.

"What Twilight's trying to tell ya, sugarcube, is that it ain't just book smarts school will teach ya." Applejack waved her mug a bit to ask Berry to tip her off. "Even me an' Big Mac got a diploma hangin' by our bedsides. Do I ever use that chemistry know-how I got in science class or even remember half o' those equations? Heck no! But you know what I do remember and use? Them work values and stick-to-itiveness those teachers hammered into our heads with every homework assignment. When it comes to life lessons, a teacher's second only ta family. And workin' them facts and figures in our accounts is sure a lot easier when you actually know how to chart it."

"I have a certification in fog specialty," Fluttershy said. "But I never really use it. It's just that the Equestrian Revenue Service gives tax breaks to my water and heating because I'm qualified to provide a public service. Uh, what I'm trying to say is, a proof of education can be beneficial to you even if you never use it. I know I never will...I think."

"Proper tutelage is also a very mandatory front for a pony's reputation. I mean, could you imagine the type of clientele I would attract to my boutique if everypony thought I was an uncultured dropout? A diploma is more than a symbol of academic achievement, it's a sign that you are smart enough to be trusted with tasks by others. I probably never would have gotten the loan to start my business had I not finished my studies beforehand."

"Yeah! Learning can be fun too! You wouldn't believe all the neat stuff I made when I was working on my thesis!" Pinkie chirped.

"Wait, you went to college?" Twilight asked.

"What did you get your degree in? Baking?" Rainbow Dash teased.

"Actually it was in contraptionology,"

"Ca-tra-whoist now?"

Pinkie zipped Applejack's lips. "You know what? Let's save that tale for later. This is Dashie's story, not mine!"

"So you all have some kind of egghead certificate except me," Rainbow said. She motioned for Berry to pour her another glass before her mood started to fall again. "That's what you're saying, right? Cause if you are, you might want to retake that class on how to make a pony feel better."

"Hey, that's an idea! Why don't you just retake your classes?"

Berry Punch annoyingly wiped herself of the spray of Rainbow's spit take.

"W-what?!"

"That's actually a brilliant suggestion, Pinkie Pie! Rainbow Dash can simply finish her education from where she left off!"

Needless to say, Rainbow's mouth hung open in a very crooked and awkward way at Rarity's agreement. Then with a shake of her head she x-crossed her hooves to her chest.

"Uh uh! No way! Are you even listening to yourselves? Me? Go back to school? At my age? Forget it!"

"There's no age restriction in the educational facilities Rainbow," Twilight explained. "Why, technically speaking, I'm still a student myself."

"Well duh, no one's gonna talk smack about you if your teacher's a princess! But come on! This is flight school we're talking about! The only place in Equestria that has a more judgmental community than the Canterlot snobs!"

Rarity seemed rather miffed at that last comment as Rainbow continued. "Do you know what's going to happen when all those students see a full grown mare walk in with a backpack slung over her shoulders? I've already lost my dreams, I'm sure as hay not gonna throw away my dignity too!"

"Oh, stop being such a silly filly, Dashie!" Pinkie Pie patted her hoof over Rainbow's mane. "There's no way every pony in school can be a meanie mean pants just because you're a little late to finish!"

"Pinkie's right, Rainbow. Even if you are teased a little bit, wouldn't getting the qualifications needed to keep pursuing your goals be worth it?"

"Says the pony whose greatest fear is being sent back to magic kindergarten!"

Twilight's face went bright red. "T-that's different! A-anyways, back to matter at hoof. When did you stop going to classes?"

Rainbow scratched her head for a second. "Towards the end of my junior year."

"Well, then that's great! You'd only have to go back for one more year! Surely you can handle that much."

"It wouldn't be...cool if ya couldn't," Applejack said with a smirk.

"Woah woah woah! Wait. Not cool?" Rainbow's anxiety was immediately replaced with indignation.

"Eeyup. Gotta say, I never pegged ya to be the type of mare who believes that whole 'too cool for school' spiel. In mah opinion, that is, by far, the lamest thing, ever."

"Seconded."

"Indeed."

"Yuppers."

"Mm...mm hmm."

"If you'll allow a humble wine connoisseur to throw in her two bits as well, you might as well stick a stamp on your flank and mail yourself to loser-ville."

Rainbow Dash's wings flared out as she abruptly emerged from her seat. "Oh yeah? Well, news flash for you, girls! This mare's not only going back to school, she's gonna ace every course in record time! And when she's reaching for that diploma at the end of the year, the bleachers will be swarming with every Wonderbolt agent in Equestria, begging for forgiveness and pleading for me sign up!"

She held her head high as she marched for the door. "You'll see! Equestria will see! I'm not giving up on anything! I'm gonna get my study on! I'm gonna prove I'm awesome, even at learning! I am going to MAKE. SCHOOL. COOL."

Everypony, even Berry, shared a wink as Rainbow Dash took off.

"Welp. Look like we gots ourselves a very interesting year a 'head of ourselves if RD gonna start being the brainy one of the group."

A giggle was shared before Twilight cleared her throat.

"But in all seriousness, girls. Rainbow Dash is going to need our full support if she's to see this through. We need to help her in any way we can so she doesn't give up on this."

"That's a given," Rarity said as the group proceeded to exit in a similar fashion. "She'll need the most chic school ensemble."

"An' plenty of them school supplies."

"And tasty, wholesome lunches!"

"And...um, someone to cheer her on?"

"And of course she'll need-"

"Somepony to pay her tab."

Twilight was yanked back as Berry Punch held a bill in front of her face. "Just so you know, she ordered from the 'vintage' list. Very pricy."

"Oh. Oh, of course. Uh, girls. Would you mind-"

A closed door was all that greeted her as she turned her head around. The deep plum pony lifted another sheet to Twilight's face.

"And here is yours and the others."

"And this is why we never include drinking among our social activities."

Comments

[SuperPinkBrony12]

See Rainbow Dash all of your friends finished school, oh well at least you're going back now, and this time no quittin or you can kiss your chances of being a wonderbolt goodbye.

[SuperPinkBrony12]

How do you link to those other stories, what do you have to do?

[Skyeheart]

1598463
The hyperlink tab, the anchor button. Copy the link into there.

[SuperPinkBrony12]

1599317 O.K. then.